Halo 5: Crossroads (Hiatus)
by luckychi7
Summary: It's been three months as the death of Cortana lingers over The Master Chief who reunited with Blue Team, a squad of Spartan II's he grew up and trained with years before Reach fell. Their reunion left the Spartan with a choice that will provide a different outlook from The UNSC and ONI as Spartan Agent Locke was given the task to bring them home and discover why they went AWOL.
1. Prologue: On The Move

**Author's Notes: Hey guys it's been a while since I've made a new story considering that there are a still a few that are yet to be completed. This idea was heavily inspired by the Halo 5 story and the controversy behind what people have reacted. Honestly this is how I believed that Halo 5 was going to turn out prior to the game's release, and finishing the campaign made me want to actually work on this story.**

Prologue:

On The Move

98 days since The Didact's Defeat...

The Covenant have cornered all sections of a Ice Glacier Canyon on the planet of Harvest. There were five groups that carefully kept their eye out for the enemy. Each group consisted of the following. Two Sangheili storm major, four Unggoy rangers, three storm Kig-Yar. One of the Unggoy were adjusting their needler until they felt something within the distance. It wasn't long before a bullet passed between the Unggoy's skull as his body fell against the surface of the icy terrain. Every faction within the vicinity witness the dead Unggoy. A Sangheili storm major exchanged a nod with his brethren as they center their claws to the neck of the remaining Unggoy members behind the storm Kig-Yar. A single Unggoy member from each group showed felt a chill crawling up their methane tank while meeting into the eyes of their fearless Sangheili leader. However, the other few members of the Unggoy shaked their heads in disappointment to lower the resentment. It could all be seen within the scope range of a sniper rifle in the arms of Spartan 058, Linda Pravdin.

As the marksman reloads her weapon, She witnessed a single combat knife pierced through one of the Sangheili majors neck. A few seconds passed before another one of the Sangheili major was caught in the grasp of another Spartan just before he met the same outcome. The remaining majors centered their attention towards their fallen brethren as they lay contact with the super soldier, Spartan 104, Frederic Ellsworth. A single glance stirred up the Sangheili in rage as they drew out their energy sword cornering the supersoldier from all sides. There was no way Fred could get himself out this situation on his own. At least that's what it was until the remaining Unggoy and Kig-yar members within the faction were met with bullet lead to the face as their blood came in contact with the the snowy surface. It was his lucky day just as Linda centered the scope of her rifle to the two Sangheili majors. Fred quickly rolled over to the side as he drawed out his M6C Magnum. A few rounds fired from the weapon causing the Sangheili major to evade from the bullets. That was until the covenant member collided his energy sword with one of his fallen brethren now in the hands of the enemy in sight. A few clashes is all it took for the two warriors as Linda was about to pull the trigger.

"Don't intervene Linda, I got this." Fred tried to keep the collision in sync with one another.

Linda shook her head, "Not a chance." She sent the bullet towards the enemy's skull who used sword as a shield to deflect it as he kicked Spartan 104 in the chest, "Shit! Fred, Are you alright?"

That wasn't enough to keep Fred on the ground as he witnessed the adversary activate his camomagulator. The super soldier kept his eye on his surroundings as he turned on the energy sword, and there was one advantage for him. One look ahead at the terrain is all it took as Fred clashes the energy sword with The Sangheili major's weapon. He redrew his magnum to in order for the bullets to collide between the enemy's armor as blood began to burst from his wound, and that gave Fred the opportunity. The Elite tried a final attempt to kill the Spartan until a combat knife met within the back of his spine. Fred slowly released his knife covered in it's blood as the major's corpse rested against the snowy surface.

"Still got it in me." Fred laughed as he removed the blood from his combat knife.

Linda jumped from the edge of the cliff towards Fred's position, "Just as reckless as always."

Fred shaked his head, "Hey I could've handled it."

"Mom would've probably lectured you." Linda continued.

"No I think it would be quite the opposite." Spartan 104 reassured his fellow teammate.

A small hysterical laugh could be heard from the back, "I haven't seen heard you two talk like this since boot camp."

Fred and Linda turned around as Spartan 087, Kelly Shaddock, appears within the distance alongside the leader of their team, Spartan 117, John, walked towards them. While setting the weapons on their back, Spartan 058 and Spartan 104 slowly walked towards their teammates.

"Excellent work you two." Chief said gratefully before he looked over at a Forerunner structure near a kilometer from their position.

Kelly focused her attention towards the team, "Are you still hanging in there, Chief?"

John stood there continuously glancing at the Forerunner structure. He pulled Cortana's data chip from his helmet. Just one look at the empty chip was all it took for him to recall what she would say upon seeing the structure before The Spartans and the rest of his team.

Kelly placed her hand on Spartan 117's right armor shoulder piece, "John!"

Master Chief looked back at Kelly as he held a grip on towards the hollow AI chip, "I'll be alright."

"Considering what we've done to the UNSC, I think alright might be stretching things." Linda answered doubtingly towards their teammate leader.

"Hey there was a purpose..." Kelly protested towards her teammate.

Spartan 058 sighed as she interrupted, "However, You matter to us the most cause we're family we always have been since training."

"And we always will be brother all the way till the end." Fred reassured his longtime friend.

Chief looked at his longtime team an individual quiet remark before focused towards the chip. John quickly replaced the chip within the slot at the back of his helmet, "Thanks for reminding me."

Kelly looked at her old friend dead on through her visor, "So, we good to press forward?"

Master Chief drew out his Assault Rifle, "That should give you something to say."

"On your signal, Chief." Fred drew out the Sangheili majors Energy Sword lying on the ground.

Spartan 117 noticed the other members drawing out their primary weapons and looked once more at the Forerunner structure within their range of distance, "Blue Team, fall out."

At once The members of Master Chief's team rush towards the structure until they couldn't be seen any further from the corpses of the adversary they laid to waste.

* * *

 **I know that some people might be thinking as to why I'm calling this story as Halo 5: Crossroads and not Halo 5 Guardians (Better Version). The reason is because I wanted this story to detach itself from some of the unexplained plot lines that happened in the game. Now there are going to be certain plotlines that are gonna be similar to the game, but they are going serve a purpose in the direction that this story will go. As far as this beginning stage is considered I thought it would've be cool had Halo 5 opened up with Chief and The Spartan II's and dropping a few hints about their past history (having read The Fall of Reach) and the role they play is going to be really crucial to this story. Hope you guys enjoy reading this beginning scene to Halo 5: Crossroads, and as always thanks for reading.**


	2. Mission 1: Spartan Locke

**Author's Notes: So I realized I forgot to say when this chapter or (mission in terms of campaign) was gonna be uploaded, and that will be clarified when you finish reading Mission 1. As the title says its focus will be on Locke, but as I stated last week similar with Blue Team, Jameson Locke's portrayal in this story will be handled much differently compared to the game.**

Mission 1:

Spartan Locke

In the lobby section of the UNSC NAVY space station where many people were passing by, or chattered with other members aboard. Among the bunch was an individual who rested his arms against the metal circular that showed cased a hologram of Spartan-117 wielding his assault rifle in a heroic like pose. That was all Jameson Locke had been doing. A single look towards the heroic savior gave him gratitude, but it also made Locke drift his attention away from him. That was until he heard a sound of footsteps walked towards where he stood. It distracted Locke's train of thought as he looked in the opposite direction. At first, Locke wondered who it was until he noticed her short dark brown hair and white and black camouflage military uniform who showcased a genuine smile towards the ONI-agent.

"Still hanging out in the same spot as always I see." The brunette pointed out as she crossed her arms.

Locke chuckled at her response, "That be an accurate guesstimation wouldn't it now, Talisha Macer, or should I say bus driver."

Talisha smacked his left shoulder, "Hey this bus driver saved your life, mister ONI guy."

"And I'm more than just the ONI guy who you thought I was, but then again you already know that." Locked reaffirmed her.

Macer tsked at him, "Yeah and I'm real grateful otherwise we both would've died that day."

"Guess I can't argue about that now." Jameson said kindly before he glanced back towards the hologram once more and sighed.

The look on Macer's shifted as she walked closer to Locke placing her hand on his shoulder, "Jameson, I know what you're thinking, and everything will be alright."

"Will it now Talisha?" Locke answered coldly towards her while he pointed his finger towards the hologram, "Humanity's savior has defied the UNSC and has been on the run for months with no trace of his whereabouts."

Talisha yelled, "And he's the sole reason you joined UNSC more specifically ONI."

"That was a long time ago." Locke explained.

"Can I ask you something?" She looked him the eye, "Do you believe that The Master Chief has gone rogue?"

Jameson said, "That is something everyone would like to know, and..." He pointed towards the hologram of John-117, "He alone has the answers."

"Agent Locke." a voice called out from the other side of the lobby.

Before they saw the person's face, Locke and Macer recognized a middle-aged UNSC Captain ranked uniform from anywhere. He was known for being in command of the largest ship in the UNSC. They both knew that there was more behind him then that with the outcome of recent events. One look at his cantankerous face made them aware this person shouldn't be taken lightly.

"UNSC Captain Andrew Del Rio." Locke answered in a calm cool collected tone towards him.

Del Rio sighed in disbelief, "That's ex-UNSC Captain to you Locke, you forgot as always that I am one of you now."

"Even though you've only been with ONI for eight months." Jameson said in a cold sarcastic tone, "But it's not in my place to judge someone of your caliber."

Del Rio chuckled as he gave an antsy glance towards Macer, "Jameson I would wish to speak with you in private."

Locke gave the vague Macer a node before he walked away with ex-UNSC Captain. He glanced back at her as she placed her hand to her chest until he couldn't see her within his sights. They walked towards a door just as Del Rio placed his hands on the scanner. A few seconds passed by before the doors opened as Jameson followed him into his soundproof office.

"What did you wish to talk about sir?" A curious Locke asked as he witnessed the ex-captain take his seat.

Del Rio pressed one of two button from a small metallic device as a projector showcased as pelican traveling through space, "I'm sure like many others you know what this is."

Locke responded with, "Yes, this was very last transmission the UNSC and ONI have heard from The Master Chief, but I myself have only heard about it through speculation."

"Then this should definitely be a treat for you, son." He answered as he clicked on the digital play button.

A small static could be heard before John-117's last transmission could be heard, "Sierra-117 to Infinity, Blue Team has gathered the intel from covenant forces within the Forerunner Ruins on the planet."

"Roger 117, you and your team are to return to Infinity with the intel provided from the control room." Captain Lasky ordered calmly through the recorded intercom.

The static gradually increased forcing Locke to cover his ears for a moment before Lasky's voice said, "... Return to Infinity immediately..."

"Negative Infinity, I don't like it." Chief answered as his final transmission with The UNSC ended.

Locke left himself in thought as he placed his finger over his chin from the recording. While doing so, he noticed that Del Rio stared him down with a grudge on his face, "If you want my analogy sir, then whatever the Chief found has forced him into this situation."

"No! he brought this decision on himself, and for his actions he disobeyed UNSC orders." Del Rio slammed his fist against his desk discouragingly, "Is that understood Agent Locke?"

"To my understanding, you have something in mind that involves me in particular." The ONI answered calmly towards his superior with a stern look towards him, "And based on the conversation it involves him as well."

The ex-UNSC Captain placed his hand over his mouth with a chuckle, "You catch on pretty quickly, I can see that the reports within your records weren't just urban myths."

"The mission, sir." Jameson continued.

Del Rio caught his breath for a moment, "Your mission is to find whatever The Master Chief discovered on Arcadia, and don't allow anyone to discover your presence."

"I assume you have already made preparations for this objective." Agent Locke assumingly answered.

"From what I've gathered your augmentation procedure went well, and based on that the members of ONI had this ready for some time now especially made for you." Del Rio explained as he pressed the second button on the remote, ""A Prowler is prepared for launch once you're ready to depart."

Locke looked to his right as a secret door opened up revealing a new black Spartan IV Armor. It wasn't the first time he's seen the Spartan armor of his generation, but there was something noticeable that quickly distinguished this armor from the previous armor within the Spartan IV Program. The symbol of ONI was present near left side of the chest on the armor. He held the helmet within the palm of his hands before the agent placed it over his head.

"How does it feel Agent Locke?" A curious Del Rio asked.

Jameson looked him through the visor of his helmet, "I would prefer, Spartan Locke."

 _A few hours later..._

Wind passed through the atmosphere of Arcadia as a UNSC Prowler corvette ship showed itself from its cloaking shield while it lands within the surface of a jungle. The hanger bay opened up as The new Spartan IV soldier walks into the forest after he scans for hostile activity within his sight.

The only thing that Locke was able to come across is the flesh of several covenant factions. Two Kig-Yars majors had a bullet hole between their eyes. Three Unggoy rangers laid with their heads buried within the planet's soil. A single Sangheili general had an energy sword passed through his stomach to the back where the tips stood out. Locke analyzed the outcome that occurred from this fight, and continued to move ahead. More members of the Covenant had met the same fate as Locke proceeded with his objective. That was until he notice the remains of a covenant dropship, Spirit. The horseshoe like hangar bays were split into tiny forms of rubble from the exposed control station. He noticed that some part of it was still operational as a light kept blinking multiple times. It was an audio transmission spoken in Sangheili, but Locke's visor translated the wording to English. _"Brother the humans are drawing near defend the relic at all cost." is what one of the Sangheili sounded and the other said, "As The Didact's hand I shall allow you to act as decoy towards the human and die with honor."_ After that things became static once again, and it left Locke to wonder about one who referred to himself as The Didact's Hand. Only one name came to his mind through the method of process of elimination. Jul Mdama.

At that moment, Locke checked his surrounding once more if the leader is within the planet's surface, and more importantly at his destination. There was no point in standing there with a precautious mindset to him since he had to press forward. The Spartan examined his armor system through the gadget attached to his left arm armor piece. Three armor enhancements were present within it. On the top was speed boost. In the middle was night vision sensory. The last one showcased invisibility cloak. Each of these three enhancements held a hundred percent usage, and with only ten minute timer set on the side. Before making a decision, Locke sensed a hostile near within his sight and quickly avoided the collision of a double arrow metallic shield stuck trapped within the soil. He knew full well of the creature that was standing before him. A Mgalekgolo. There was no time to think for the Spartan as he avoided a plasma based cannon blast from the enemy. It came charging at him once more, but Locke rolled over to the side and brought out his combat knife as he mounted the back of the Mgalekgolo and attempted to pierce through his head. At least that's what he assumed before the adversary shaked off and barely missed a direct blow.

"Damn." Locke shouted as he fired a few rounds from his magnum towards the Mgalekgolo, but it wasn't phased.

It screamed preparing to fire another plasma based attack, and Locke barely used the speed boost for a second to dodge the assault once more. Despite that, He drew out his grenade in hopes to make one final attempt to bring down the enemy that stood before him. The same pattern steps were repeated just as before for The Spartan, but Jameson pulled the cap off and placed the grenade within the Mgalekgolo back. Before it exploded from within, Locke immediately rushed out of the area only to see a single Lekgolo worm swirl around for a moment before he continued on. Even though he was victorious, Locke wondered as to why there was only one of them since hew knew the usual tactical approach from the covenant. All he could think of is that it was a survivor of the ship's crash.

A bright lead could be seen ahead from the Spartan continued walking. He kept his distance in case any possible hostiles were in place, and it was just as he expected. Near the edge of a cliffside Locke noticed a set of seven covenant members meters away from his position. The easiest targets eliminated from him were two Unggoy and three Kig-Yar snipers. Only thing that was left for him was an Sangheili Major and a Sangheili Minor. Among the two, The minor was the first to witness Locke and went charging towards him. It wasn't much for Locke to handle except for dealing with a single struggle against the enemy's claws. That was before Locke placed the combat knife between the Sangheili Minor's jaw and pierced it through his back as he fell within the planet's soil. He knew full well that the Sangheili general wasn't going make the same mistake as his squad member. Instead The Spartan made the first strike only to meet a few punches to the right side of his face. Locke quickly drew out his battle rifle fired bullets through it's armor only, but felt unaffected by it. The Sangheili General finally drew out his energy sword and grabbed him by the neck. He knew exactly the outcome that was coming towards the adversary and quickly kicked him in the face to free himself. He activated the speed boost once more to throw him off the cliff along with him as they punched one another while they were free falling from the cliff. That was the case before Locke activated the thruster packs and punched the Sangheili warrior in the chest before meeting impact from the ground.

The Spartan IV safely used the thruster pack to initiate a safe landing from the cliffside. It was at that moment where he founded himself at the remains of a structure. It wasn't Forerunner based. An old facility structure of ONI with a sign that showcased 2531. The entirety of the place was a mess when it came to Locke, but that wasn't an important matter at the moment. He walked passed the facility to where one one of the cliffsides where an old Rhino Tank stood during the time of the early Human-Covenant War. A single touch at the vehicle is all it took for Locke to feel the combat that the heavy tank must've gone through at the period. He looked on ahead towards another structure with designs that represented to that of the Forerunner, and it made him lock back at the gadget attached to his armor. The focus of his attention wasn't towards the first or second enhancement. It was towards the last one the invisibility cloak. Locke had one chance to pull it off, and the timer was the other thing that crossed his mind. Ten minutes. That is all the time the agent had to discover what it was that caused The Master Chief to defy orders from the UNSC. One click on the gadget caused his appearance to disappear in order for him to continue the path towards the Forerunner Ruins.

Half of that time passed for Jameson to reach the entrance. It was there where he noticed a difficult task as two soldiers from the UNSC have guarded with their scopes focused in two directions. One of them paid attention The left side where The Spartan stood, and the other watched his back in case anything came from that direction. Four minutes were remaining until his enhancement wore off. The idea of using two armor enhancements crossed his mind which would've been a great idea. However, an situation like that would only split the time he has with the enhancement. It sure as hell sounded reckless, but Locke decided to take that precaution and activated the speed boost enhancement to knock both of the soldier guards unconscious. Another look at the timer. A minutes and fifteen seconds was all that was left for Spartan IV soldier. Using that small amount gave Locke an opportunity to sneak, as he goes through several fleshes from members of The Covenant and members of the UNSC covered in blood, into the Control room where he witnessed the Covenant Supreme Leader fight off against a Spartan IV wearing an ODST type helmet. Locke only had thirty seconds left before his enhancements exposed his presence within the control room. The other Spartan IV had could barely hold anything against the Covenant Leader with their fists locked with one another. None of that mattered once Jul managed to throw him across the wall and as a graving lift from a Covenant Phantom allowed him to enter momentarily before it escaped. It was then when Locke's armor enhancements finally wore out, and as he looked back the UNSC soldiers were unconscious except for the other Spartan IV who stood on his feet.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" The ODST helmet Spartan answered in a sarcastic tone.

Locke exchange his hand towards him, "The intel."

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"The intel you have gathered on Sierra-117 give it to me NOW!" Jameson ordered the other Spartan.

The ODST Spartan made hand movements, "Hold on a second, I can't just share info with some random stranger I need to get to know you first." He exchanged hands with The ONI agent, "The name's Buck ex ODST leader now a full fledged Spartan."

He gave the other Spartan a nod, "Fair enough, name's Jameson Locke."

"Jameson Locke, You mean Agent Locke as in the guy who works with..." Buck falls silent as he noticed the ONI symbol on Locke's Armor, "That explains the armor enhancements and secretive approach."

Locke chuckled as he squeezed his fingers, "Buck, I'd prefer if you addressed me as Spartan Locke." He could hear pain from Buck, "Now would you be kind as to give me the intel you've gathered on the Master Chief?"

* * *

 **I know some of you will notice how the second half of the mission felt kinda rushed, and to bring a different sense missionary I thought it would be cool if Locke had more of a detective kind of approach sort of like Batman which is kinda why I hadn't placed too much action in regards to this chapter or mission. When it comes to Halo 5 Guardians as a sidenote I thought it was okay, but it was a stepdown from the story that Halo 4 had told. That aside, I had** **a lot of Halo 2 going through my mind when we had Arbiter put the armor on for the first time and I thought it would cool to make an Omage to that scene in particular. In terms of Talisha Macer, she is actually the main female lead in the live action series Halo: Nightfall which gave me an idea of bringing her and both her and Locke think back to what occurred during that series, not that Halo Nightfall was groundbreaking it had some interesting things behind it honestly. Now as far as if Fireteam Osiris is going to play a part in this story that's something you're gonna have to wait for when we get back to Locke as the next Chapter (Mission) will focus back on The Master Chief and Blue Team. The release for future chapters (missions) will be set up as: One chapter (Mission) per week, and as always thanks for reading guys. However due to finals week coming up I'm going to put this series on a mini-hiatus until December 9th cause that's when I'll be get back to my normal routine gear with this, and The Last (Our Version) with my cousin Ria.**


	3. Mission 2: The Relic

**Author's Note: Hey guys I am so sorry its taken me this long to get this completed, but life and college have not been in the best side of things for me in the past couple of months. However, at the moment I've gotten my life back together with writing, and I've been working on this whenever I did get the time in past months. So hopefully you guys** **find this wait to be worth the read especially since it focuses on Master Chief and Blue Team.**

Mission 2:

The Relic

A single footprint onto the snowy surface was coated by a strong blizzard storm. Any normal soldier of the United Nations Space Command would've been frozen to death within a matter of seconds. However, that wasn't the case for John-117 and the other members of Blue Team. They've all wandered around the glacier canyon for hours with the imminent threat that averted them from reaching their destination, but they weren't much to handle by Blue Team's standards. Once that storm had come any potential contact from The Covenant dwindled by the second. John kept a sharp eye on his surroundings alongside the rest of his squad to be on the safe side of things. Master Chief made a single hand gesture to stop their travels as he walked beyond a giant ice boulder. Suddenly, John just stood at a single position as he witnessed what appeared to be an old abandoned UNSC base. From the high ground the Spartan leader could tell the perimeter around the vacant gates had been deluged with snow.

"What do you see, Chief?" Fred asked.

John didn't bother to look back, "It's a UNSC base."

Spartan-104 looked at his leader in curiosity, "That's the fourth one we've found on this planet."

"And it seems like we're probably going to disable this one as well, I presume." Linda quickly analyzed.

The Chief shakes his head, "Actually, this one might be different from the rest."

Spartan-087 walked towards her old friend, "And what makes you say that?"

"Take a look at the operational towers." The Chief pointed out as he performed a gesture to gather Fred and Linda forward.

As the remaining members of Blue Team gathered, they all took a moment to analyze the base just as their leader. While Linda and Fred analyzed the towers on the behalf of orders, Kelly glanced back at Spartan-117. Only it wasn't at The UNSC base, but the Forerunner structure close to their position.

"Do we have to go through with this, Chief?" Kelly asked, concerningly.

John quickly drifted away his focus towards her, "Absolutely, if the UNSC discovered what we were up to it could jeopardize the objective." He looked Kelly in the eye, "Don't forget we're not eliminating them we're just insentienting them so they don't get in the way."

Kelly sighed, "I know."

"Alright then, let's get moving." Spartan-117 said as he slid down the edge of the cliff alongside Kelly to meet up with the other members of Blue Team.

the layer of snow that surrounded the base felt like an understatement to John. Each of the four members scanned sections of the military base upon the orders from their leader. Fred examined through the barracks outpost on the far left. Linda peaked through the weapons storage on the far right. Kelly kept her focus to an old Vehicle Depot Assembly line. John scavenged through what was left of the UNSC Base. The metallic door had barely hung open due to the immense weather pressure. All that stood before was a asymmetrical hallway with a few doors through both ends of the wall. That could be seen after John switched on the light from his assault rifle as he continued to walk forward. A single glance behind each of the three doors revealed a single bunkbed, and two wooden tables with fried laptops. The pathway ended just as John stumbled across a row of staircases which led him to the second floor. The observation deck.

Whatever was present had become a mess. He noticed the considerable amount of dry blood and skeletons of the fallen soldiers that came before. The electricity sparked out from several areas of the operational computerized stations on the right and left side of the deck. Just before he walked away, John noticed a layout grid in the center. The situation however was the same as the other. Which meant that there wasn't a point for him to search through the base any further than he already had. After going through the lower level, Chief casually left the main building and found his fellow comrades in the center.

He walked forward, "Status report."

"It seems like the vehicle depot facility hasn't been operational for years." Kelly stated.

Linda drew out a few ammunition clips to her team, "The same can be said about the weapon storage except for these."

Master Chief takes one of them from Linda, "They're really dated

compared to what we're running on."

"I think it would be best if we kept it around as backup just in case." Spartan-058 reassured to the leader.

"Good suggestion." He answered before his focus shifted towards his other teammate, "What were you able to gather from the barracks?"

Fred brought forth a circular metallic device, "This was the only thing I was able to find." He tapped the center of it as a hologram of a UNSC soldier appeared.

Based on his appearance, the soldier looked around somewhere in his mid to late twenties. The beard on his face made it seem like he hadn't shaved in a few weeks. His brown eyes appeared almost as intimidating as to that of an owl. Cracks could be seen from the chest piece area of the armor he was wearing. The rest of the soldier's armor looked shriveled from directions of the shoulder piece and kneecap pieces. His name tag on the right side of the chest piece had almost been covered by the snow. Luckily, the members of Blue Team could make out the name from the tag as Sergeant John Forge.

"Sergent Report February 4th 2531, today on Harvest my team of soldiers and I have across an ancient building within the icy canyon. For whatever reason the covenant had decided to set charges to detonate the place after they discovered it, but with a little help we were able to pull through and stop through. There is still a considerable information yet to learn, but I'm confident..." static arises from the device as it completely blows out causing Fred to drop it from the palms of his hands.

"Son of a bitch..." Spartan-104 stated while he stared down at the old recording device.

Linda glanced over at the Forerunner structure from afar, "So forty years ago, a faction of the UNSC came across that structure."

"It makes one wonder how they never got any information from the soldiers from back then." Kelly got her weapon into position.

Fred nodded, "Do you think it's possible their status report became KIA?"

"We'll figure out what's going on once we get inside the structure." John-117 walked ahead of them as he drew out his classic assault rifle, "And any potential signs of covenant contact take them out."

The other members of Blue Team nodded, "Understood."

On John's signal the other teammates moved out from the decayed UNSC Base. Each of them hid behind a boulder and watched their six. All it took to reassure themselves was a couple checks within their surroundings before they continued to pass through the snow storm. John had a thought on the covenant's status, and it only led him to a single spot. If what he believed was the case then to him it wasn't something to relax about. John and the members of his team continued on, there was still no sign of the covenant forces to be found. It felt odd for the situation to have felt as easy as it was for the Master Chief as he thought back to his previous encounter. There would only be a few instances where something like this had happened.

"Is something wrong, Chief?" Spartan 087 asked in a concerned tone through the helmet mics.

He switched his on, "Everything's fine."

"This might be just me, but isn't a little strange how we haven't seen the covenant?" Fred suggested through the helmet mics.

Linda switched hers on, "I was beginning to ask the same thing."

Blue Team continued to move ahead from their position once more, but something felt different. The amount of time they spent scouring through the storm seemed peaceful within the canyon. That was until Master Chief noticed a streak of snow fall from edge of a tiny cliff ahead, and his team did the same. He could feel the ground shake the more he and the other members of Blue Team made their move. They all looked at one another for an answer as to what had caused the sudden ruckus, and with the experience they had in the last war Blue Team knew what was coming there way. Instead, they held their position by the four massive snow boulders as the shake within the ground just grew and grew. Kelly's heart raced as she witnessed a giant metallic leg appeared near her position. The same situation occurred with Fred as he witnessed another giant metallic leg near his position. John peaked through his cover to witness a metallic egyptian arachnid head show itself from the storm that had concealed it.

"Of all the things to come across in this dump." Fred complained as he kept himself still from being spotted.

Linda responded with, "Look out!"

The metallic arachnid head slowly charged its firing plasma at the massive snow boulders that conceal the members of Blue Team.

"Move now!" Master Chief ordered as he exposed himself into the open underneath the belly of its metallic body while firing at the boulder where he kept himself hidden.

The other members of Blue Team quickly followed their leader as the Scarab shifted its head toward the boulders while the firing sequence continued.

John hopped his head toward Spartan-087 and she exchanged the same response before drawing out her rocket launcher, and quickly shot at the joints of the Scarab's metallic legs. Once all four sections were hit the color blinked from blue to red rapidly as the scarab lowered itself to a position similar to that of a push up position.

"Hangar bay's probably opening up now." Fred informed.

Linda acknowledged, "Then we know what's to come."

"Best to get in and take out all the hostile." Master Chief stated as he and his fellow comrades marched into the hangar bay.

The moment they stepped foot a group of four Kig-Yar minor guarded a row of staircases. Each one shifted their blue reflective shield near their face as they positioned their needlers, and opened fire upon contact with the Spartans. John threw a single plasma grenade and successfully stuck the middle Kig-Yar minor's weapon. It took about three seconds before the grenade detonated. The Kig-Yar from the far right and left jumped to the side as the other two were killed. Not long after did they attempt fire their weapons on Blue Team, but they ducked before they got hit. Just as the remaining Kig-Yar repositioned their protective shield, Fred fired three single bullets into the skull of one Kig-Yar, and Kelly grabbed the last one with her incredible speed then slapped it against the wall. She released her grip as the body fell against the cold metallic floor. The deflective fields from the group of Kig-Yar minor automatically turned off as their bodies were pushed to the side.

John and his fellow Spartans make their way up the stairs immediately coming across two remnant Zealot Sangheili from the two parallel pathways. One of the zealots dual wielded energy swords, and the other was armed with a detached plasma cannon. All it took was a second before they engaged battle with the Spartan IIs. John dropped a bubble shield that protected himself and Blue Team as the Sangheili began to strike. He glanced at Fred and gave him a single nod. Spartan 104 knew full well what to do as he jumped tagged the Zealot with a plasma grenade, and rolled back into the shield before it killed the first adversary. The other Zealot kept firing his weapon as an attempt to bring the shield down, and John gave the same gesture to Linda as he gave to Fred. The bubble shield fell just as the Zealot lost the energy from his weapon which gave Linda a chance to press a bullet between the enemy's skull. Upon order from Master Chief, Blue team split two take both pathways; John and Fred took the left path while Kelly and Linda took the right.

Despite the team split in two, they all came across three covenant faction groups with a few differences. Each of the Sangheili major had different weapons between a storm rifle, a carbine, and duel wielding plasma rifles. two Unggoy rangers were placed in each of the three groups. Each one wielded between a plasma pistol, a needler, and a fuel rod cannon. The last species within the three groups were a single Storm Kig-Yar who wielded a plasma pistol while they carried a shield. The adversaries struck first against the Spartans, but they were able to use metallic shields in the center as a cover. Even with that scenario the Unggoy from each faction group were taken down with a bullet to the head blood splattered against the wall. Then the Kig-yar met the same fate only with plasma grenades stuck to their arms moments before they went off. All that was left were the two Sangheili major from each group, and they were eliminated with a large amount of needles from the needlers stuck to their chest. Just a moment later the explosive needles went off which caused the Sangheili's body to fall off the ledge.

No other enemies were in sight from that point which gave the Spartans the cue to press forward. It didn't take long for them to reach the control grid on the upper level of the Scarab. Only one Sangheili operated the grid as the members of Blue Team made it there, and eliminated him right on the spot which caused the Scarab to stop its movement. Spartan 117 made one hand gesture which gave the other members a clear to move toward the grid as Fred shoved the Sangheili's body to the side.

Spartan 108 scanned over at the buttons, "I guess it's time we took this thing out for good."

"We could or.." John extended his hand forward toward his teammate.

"Or what Chief?" Linda asks.

Master Chief focused his attention on a circular orb, and placed his hand which caused it function once more, "We control the Scarab and eliminate all hostiles in sight."

Kelly said, "That, and it make our approach to the forerunner structure easier as well."

"I was just about bring that point up." Fred responded as he reloaded his weapon.

"Then it's settled." John announced to his old friend as he looked directly at them, "I'll operate the Scarab while you guys watch its surrounding incase any hostiles try to get on board. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" The other members of Blue team proudly said as they turned their back and walked out from the grid with the doors slowly closing behind the Chief as he made his move with the Scarab faced the other way.

Just by viewing the digital screen from outside the Scarab, John could tell that there was still quite a ways to go, but using the other buttons on the grid caused the Scarab to move forward. What came his way were a couple ghosts and three to four wraiths, and that's when Master Chief switched on the firing cannon to eliminate the vehicles that stood in his way. Once that was taken care of John scanned the area before he continued the path to the Forerunner structure.

"Blue Team, status report?" Chief asked through the com channels of his helmet.

Fred radioed the leader, "A few covenant bogies have made it on board, but Linda and I are taking them out as we speak."

"More of them just keep coming." Kelly reported in.

The Chief says, "Do whatever it takes and eliminate them."

"Affirmative sir." Linda answered before they broke off communication.

What came ahead was twice the amount of firepower with two major differences. No ghosts were present only six Anti-Air Wraiths. At the same time four Banshees appeared within the air, and the damage that came was minimal at best. Partially due to the firing canon that chief used to eliminate the Anti-Air Wraiths, and all that remained were the banshees. The were two issues John dealt with was that the firing sequence needed to recharge before it could be initiated once more. The last thing was that the Scarab also remained stunned due to the second firing sequence from the canon.

"Kelly I could you use some help with those banshees." John requested.

Spartan-087 confidently answered, "Don't worry I got it covered."

One glance at the digital screen gave Master Chief the notice that the four banshees were taken down in four shots. A single hit broke the vehicles into several pieces after meeting impact with the snow terrain. It only took a few more seconds before John could control The Scarab again as it continued the march. There was no sign of covenant forces for a few miles after the last encounter, and it made him wonder what in the world was going on outside.

"Anyone else feel weird about no signs of covenant?" Linda asked curiously through the com channel.

Kelly answered, "I was just about to ask the same thing."

"It means something big's about to cross our way." Master Chief inferred as he continued to scan through the area.

"I was thinking the same thing." Fred answered with concerned tone in his voice through the com channel.

John used the Scarab to advance forward through a steep hill, and immediately used its mechanical to crawl to the bottom safely. The Forerunner structure was just within distance range close to a hundred fifty yards away as Chief glanced over at the distance projection on the screen. Not to much his surprise were two Anti Wraiths, two wraiths, four revenants, and eight ghosts that stood in their path in the front. The back forces had several giant stationary plasma cannons within sight of the legendary structure within a dead end zone of the canyon.

"That's quite the show now, isn't it?" Kelly chuckled, briefly.

Fred answered, "I don't think it's much we can handle."

"Still we take them out regardless." Linda pointed out.

John nodded as he activated the firing cannon, "Exactly!"

Every unit within the covenant faction in sight fired at Spartan controlled Scarab. The result from all the enemy units could barely leave a mark as Chief noticed the damage schematics through the holographic projection on the screen. The charging sequence was ready just as the Scarab fired its cannon at the first row of units, and all it took was thirty second to eliminate the vehicles in sight. At the same time, Master Chief scanned through the cannons within the vicinity, and used the secondary sun to weaken the stationary cannons. Spartan-117 kept his eye on the screen as it showcased the damaged areas the Scarab took thus far. Small inefficient pieces fell to the ground, but it didn't stop him to use the firing sequence once more to eliminate the canons. This time it took twice the amount of time for them to clear the area, it caused the Scarab to remain in motion.

"Ah shit, not again." Fred complained through the intercom.

Linda replied, "At least we took all the forces outside the perimeter."

The surrounding area shaked.

"What was that?" Linda asked.

"It might've been the structure." Fred pointed out.

The surrounding area shaken once more as a small crack from the upper right hill fell. A loud roar emerged as well.

"That didn't sound like it came from the structure." Kelly replied nervously.

Chief scanned the screen of the area, "You're right, whatever's causing the earthquake is coming from within the canyon."

After he made that statement, a mechanical red tentacle emerged from behind the wall and fired a plasma like blast to that of a Scarab's main firing sequence. Before he had the chance to do anything the blast left a mark on one of the Scarab's leg. Even though the Scarab was stunned, Chief initiated the secondary canon to destroy the tentacle. Instead, it actually destroy a small portion of the wall. The leader noticed a small open base from the adversary only for the ground to shake once more as the hidden base itself rose up into the sky. Just from a single scan He could tell the base had modeled itself from an aquatic creature. There were two other large tentacles that surrounded its lower section.

"Seriously, what in the world?" Fred sighed.

Linda commented, "Hmm a giant forerunner base that could float in the air with a three firing sequences. What are we even dealing it?"

"It's called a Kraken, apparently the covenant have built it to move their troops around planet to planet and how many have eliminated many forces within the UNSC for the past year and a half." Spartan 087 explained, "And from what I've gathered this was built to exceed the power of a Scarab."

Fred replied, "It certainly doing what's set out to."

"Let's focus on taking it down." Master Chief stated as he heard the power regain itself, and avoided the back right leg from being destroyed.

The other members said, "You got it, sir."

The Scarab moved to their far left of the canyon as the mobile base struck its plasmic energy blast at the Spartan controlled Scarab, but thanks to Master Chief he crawled around the other end of the canyon wall. Through the digital scan, John used the firing sequence from to the Scarab at one of the tentacles. It was only there did he witness tiny sparks emerge from within as the orange colors that glowed around the base blinked a times and somewhat lowered its position. However, it wasn't enough for The covenant base as it fired the next round from its last tentacle on the far left. Chief had no choice, but to draw the Scarab onto the ground to avoid taking hit. While, it continued to fire at the wall, The Scarab fired another round at its cannon at the same spot as before. This time, the damaged tentacle piece dangled back and forth as it slightly loosened from the base itself.

"Well would you look at that?" Fred announced through the intercom.

Spartan 058 replied, "All it needs is one more hit and then the tentacle will fall."

John initiated the firing sequence once more at the base just as the tentacle to the far left stopped completed its blast. At the same time it charged for another round just as The Scarab fired its third round at the dangled tentacle. The piece itself fell with a large spark of electricity released within its damaged section. The mobile base blinked a couple more times as it slightly lowered altitude, and halted the blast before it could even begin. At an instant the power on the Kraken came back online.

"Well atleast we took down one of them." Spartan 087 stated in a calm manner just as two sections of the Kraken released six banshees and a single Phantom.

Spartan 104 answered unenthusiastically, "Yeah, but look at what's come in the process."

Linda replied, "At least it's something handle."

Through the intercom John said, "Agreed, most likely the covenant are using using them fleet of aircrafts to give The Kraken its chances of repair, and we can't allow that happen. Focus all of your firepower on that feet."

"Understood." The other members of Blue Team replied confidently.

The Master Chief used the scarab's secondary canon as it locked onto the Phantom. While doing so, he witnessed his teammates teammates deal with the banshees. Linda used her sniper rifle to eliminate a few of them. Kelly used her rocket launcher to take down a couple of the banshees. With the use of the plasma launcher, Fred locke onto the remaining aircrafts fired away as he waited for a few seconds before they went off which caused them to hit the snow terrain near the forerunner structure. Finally, it all came down to the secondary cannon under Spartan 117's mark. That was all he needed to eliminate The Phantom which immediately tore itself apart into a millions of pieces as its remnants became immersed with the snowy terrain.

"That's what I'm talking about." Kelly cheered.

Master Chief stated, "Don't celebrate just yet."

He moved the Scarab back to the walls of the canyon as The Kraken fired its around in the center.

"Ah shit that's right." Fred complained.

Linda commented, "Luckily it can only fire in a single space for a short amount of time, and that will be its downfall."

"Linda's got a point." Kelly responded.

John repeated the same process he had done previously to eliminate the Kraken's tentacle. The only difference was that The Scarab had to return to the ground as the fourth blast would paralyze it for a small period. However, He used the secondary cannon to fire at the dangled tentacle piece as before. It took longer than the main canon, but the second piece finally broke off from the mobile base which caused its altitude to drop once more before it regained power. At the same time another fleet of aircrafts came from within The Kraken except Master Chief and his fellow members knew what to do. By the time they cleared out the aircraft fleet, The last tentacle charged the blast at the Scarab. John used the same method as he did initially towards the last two tentacles. Luckily for him the Scarab's main cannon had been completely renewed for four strikes, and he used three of them to eliminate the final tentacle piece. The Kraken's lower exterior ripped itself apart as the altitude dropped immensely before it regain position. Unlike before, there was no way The Kraken could fire thanks to the schematics John noticed through the digital screen, and through that he also witnessed a small orb in the center sealed with the lower exterior piece that fell apart.

"Tell me I'm not crazy, but that looks like the Kraken's core." Kelly hypothesized.

Fred says, "It definitely looks like one that's for sure."

"Yeah and it's wide open to take the final blow." Master Chief stated as he brought the used the Scarab's secondary cannon to hit the Kraken's core.

While it took longer, The core becomes vaporized by the Scarab's incredible plasmic blast. A few seconds passed before the entire mobile piece shook itself into millions as it came in contact with the surface of the glacier. With the Kraken out of the way, Master Chief brought the Scarab to the entrance of the Forerunner structure.

"That's the last time I deal with something like that." Fred sighed in relief.

Kelly mimicked his reaction, "At least it's over."

"For now." Linda commented.

John powered down the Scarab and exited the cockpit, "All that matters is that we made it here in one piece. Now lets see what this is Forerunner Structure's got."

Blue Team dropped from the Scarab and walked the pathway to the entrance. Immediately what stood in their path were small unit factions of the covenant comprised of Sangheili, Unggoy, and Kig-yar. It didn't take long for the members to eliminate their adversaries in sight as they continued their path. As the Master Chief and his fellow members passed through the hallway they came across a large room that contained a deep chasm with two energy bridges that connected to a large circular platform in the center of the chasm. All that stood on the platform was a few Unggoy minors, a single Kig-yar major, and one Sangheili general. Linda eliminated the Kig-yar with her sniper rifle. Kelly took down the Unggoy with her fragment grenade, and Fred went in with his combat knife to eliminate the Sangheili. Each member from Blue Team kicked the corpses of the platform and glance at a holographic projector.

Spartan 117 slowly walked toward and notice a spot to activated as he began to place his hand over it, "Chief.." He looked over at Kelly, "Are you sure what we're looking for is here?"

He looked back at the projector, "I'm sure." and placed his hand over it as a holographic projection of several large circles and tiny circles appeared within their surrounding view.

"This is a map of the galaxy." Linda confirmed.

Fred asked, "Yeah, but why would the covenant be so interested in this?"

Master Chief noticed one of the planets blink a few times, "It's probably because they're after something." He tapped on the planet as it the map disappeared in place of a projection of the surface of the planet, "If there's anything we know they were in leagues with The Didact."

Kelly walked forward, "That was the case Chief, but you've already stopped him."

Chief focused his attention at the projection of the planet, "The only thing I did was contain him, and if the covenant more importantly Jul Mdama have found a way then it could be bad for the fate of humanity."

Fred placed his hand on John's shoulder, "Yeah, but that's the mission we've decided to task ourselves with now."

John left himself in silence for a moment as he clenched his fist, "No it's not, but.." he moved his comrade's hand away from his shoulder, "It is something we should keep in mind."

As he kept his hand on the platform, Master Chief pictured two landscapes in his hands. The first was that of a rainforest, and the second was that of a volcano. The last frame of image that went through his mind was within the inner core of the volcano of a forerunner construct in the shape of a bird. At that moment he noticed a tiny blue figure within in as it cried, "John!"

After that, Spartan 117 removed his hand from the projector and placed it over his helmet as he grunted for a moment.

Linda asked, "Chief are you okay?"

"I..." Before he could get the chance to get his point across, a blue portal appeared behind them.

Kelly says, "That didn't happen to open because of you right?"

Master Chief stepped forward, "I'm not sure, but something's telling me we should go through it."

"I don't know if that's a good idea?" Spartan 104 suggested, "it could lead us anywhere."

John sighed, "That's true, but you know the UNSC is also doing their best to bring us in so we gotta leave as little tracks as possible. Is that understood?"

Fred nodded, "Of course."

"Good, now Let's keep moving." Master Chief said with determination as he walked into the portal as his fellow teammates followed after moments before it completely disappeared.

* * *

 **I'm sure many of you guys have noticed all the little nods from Halo Wars, and let me tell you it's not just sheer coincidence either. There is a reason why I'm brought up some of the events from Halo Wars and it's going to be important later on down the road. If this was already something that wasn't stated by me, the one thing I noticed when it came to Halo 5: Guardians was that there wasn't much of a emotional team interaction when it came to Master Chief and the rest of Blue Team and that's something I want this story to have by having him interact with them as aside to occasionally speak with him here and there. Now as for the whole Scarab aspect that was something I had going into the chapter as well because I thought it would be cool to have a mission where the player could control the Scarab too. Of course with the Scarab you also need something for it face something huge, and that's where The Krakken came into play. So hopefully you all enjoyed and don't worry there won't be a long break for the next mission as there was for this. Speaking of the next mission it should be up sometime either later this week or next week, hope you all enjoyed and as always thanks for reading.**


End file.
